UPDATED, with Trump appointment: Donald Trump continued his takeover of the Kennedy Center today, as he named loyalist Ric Grenell to serve as interim executive director.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I am pleased to announce that Ric Grenell will serve as the Interim Executive Director of The Kennedy Center. Ric shares my Vision for a GOLDEN AGE of American Arts and Culture, and will be overseeing the daily operations of the Center. NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA — ONLY THE BEST. RIC, WELCOME TO SHOW BUSINESS!”
Deborah Rutter currently serves as president of the Kennedy Center, and it is unclear what her status is. In January, she announced plans to step down at the end of the year.
Grenell served as U.S. ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence in Trump’s first administration. He has been serving as envoy for special missions during the current administration.
Watch on Deadline
Trump’s announcement follows his announcement last week that he planned to fire about half of the board of the Kennedy Center, reflected in the arts organization’s roster Monday, with a list of Joe Biden-appointees no longer named as trustees.
Also missing was the center’s chairman, philanthropist David Rubenstein, as Trump has said he plans to appoint himself to that position.
Trump defended his plans, which he announced Friday, telling reporters Sunday that “I want to make sure it runs properly.”
“We don’t need woke at the Kennedy Center,” he said. “Some of the shows were terrible. They were a disgrace that they were even put on. So I will be there until such time it gets to be running right.”
But he told reporters that he has not seen any shows at the Kennedy Center. “I got reports it was so bad. I didn’t want to go. There was nothing I wanted to see,” he said.
The Kennedy Center slate this year includes a pretty standard, safe and apolitical slate. Among its major offerings includes Shear Madness, Riverdance 30: The New Generation, Les Miserables, Legally Blonde, Sesame Street the Musical, Parade and The Sound of Music. In March, the center is hosting Earth to Space: Arts Breaking the Sky, with performances designed around exploration. A more topical show is the satire Eureka Day, centered on the board of a private California elementary school trying to decide what to do about an outbreak of the mumps.
Among the Biden appointees removed were Elizabeth Alexander, who served as First Lady Jill Biden’s communications director; musician Jon Batiste, who sang the National Anthem at Sunday’s Super Bowl, which Trump attended; political strategist Stephanie Cutter; former Biden adviser Mike Donilon; former White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo; former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre; attorney Chris Korge; activist Henry Munoz; Katherine Lynn Petrelius, who served as White House deputy director of personnel; event planner and designer Bryan Rafanelli; Amy Blanchard Ricchetti; former White House cabinet secretary Evan Ryan; and attorney Robin Wiessmann.
Seventeen board members remain including Brian Ballard, the Trump-aligned lobbyist; Pam Bondi, the attorney general; Elaine Chao, who served as Trump’s secretary of transportation in his first term; and singer Lee Greenwood.
Still listed as treasurer of the Kennedy Center is Shonda Rhimes. She was appointed to the board by Barack Obama.
The Kennedy Center said in a statement Friday that the chair of the board is appointed by the trustees, but “there is nothing in the Center’s statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members; however, this would be the first time such action has been taken with the Kennedy Center’s board.”
Trump declined to attend the Kennedy Center Honors in his four years as president. In his first year in office, in 2017, honorees including Norman Lear said that they would boycott a traditional pre-ceremony White House reception to protest Trump’s proposed cuts to arts funding.
Rubenstein, who has poured tens of millions of dollars into restoring monuments and historic sites, had planned to step down from the board of the Kennedy Center last month. But last year, he agreed to remain in that role through 2026. A spokesperson for Rubenstein said he had no comment.
The post Donald Trump Says He’s Naming Ric Grenell To Serve As Acting Executive Director Of The Kennedy Center — Update appeared first on Deadline.
